That Great Gretsch Sound
I know what you're thinking...Gretsch? Well, yes. Long before I was a freak for Rogers, I was pretty heavily into Gretsch drums and used to sing their praises to the world. In fact, when I made my move from Memphis to San Diego back in the early 90's, I brought with me an 8-piece Birdseye set, which I'd purchased a few years prior from the Memphis Drum Shop and it served me well for the next 6 or 7 years, until I sold them off during a time of need but we won't talk about that. HA! Anyhow, I went through several years of playing Bleifuss Handcrafted Custom drums then picked up a blue onyx Rogers kit and all of a sudden my life changed and I felt like I'd found my own sound.That is, until last week...
Many heartfelt thanks to my brothers at Revival Drum Shop for handing these guys over cause I'll be using them on tour with the Peach Kings, coming up soon...they sound absolutely incredible!
People can change :)Xoxo
Hittin' The Road, Again
Yeah, it's been a minute since I've jumped into a van with a bunch of folks and hit the pavement but when I got the call from one of my favorite LA rock groups, The Peach Kings, asking if I'd like to join them for a little 10-day run up the West Coast, there was some serious excitement in my bones. I just couldn't say No, as my heart was aching for it and, aside from being two of the sweetest people I've ever played with, I truly love their music...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GVvG_T_xe4...so, here we go!
The Peach Kings will be supporting, Smoke Season on this tour.Rock!
These Folks
I wish like hell I could get all of my friends to this gig but seeing as how it's a private event, they'll just have to wait till we can play one that's more of a public affair. With that said, I am super psyched to be sharing the stage with some amazing people tomorrow. My good buddy and amazing guitarist, Doug Wamble & the lovely and superbad, Morgan James. Wowzers, this young gal can really sing!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhbS3BFtXDk
Fortunate son.Love y'all.
Ben Cauley
My good friend Ben Cauley left us on Monday and it breaks my heart. He was one of the greatest and a real sweet soul. If you're not aware of him then I encourage you to check him out. God bless him and may he rest in peace.
AK
Those are the only two initials you will ever need to know when talking about custom metal snare drums and they stand for one man...Adrian Kirchler. A craftsman of the highest caliber and one of the nicest folks on the planet, his snares are known throughout the world, from major symphony drummers to jazzers and modern rock players alike. I happened to hear about him a couple of years ago while speaking with a friend of mine about having recently scored an old 1920's Ludwig "Stipple Gold", made of the same 2-piece brass shell the original Black Beauty's were made of. The one I got had been refinished with all of the original stipple finish removed down to the straight brass shell and it looked & sounded amazing.
Probably one of the best drums I've ever owned and aside from a few extra holes, there were a couple of issues that needed to be addressed. First of all, I noticed that several of the brass hoop clips (also, original from the 20's) were cracked and in need of replacement but that wasn't too big of a problem. I just wanted the drum to have some kind of regular hoops on it, as my knuckles were coming down hard on the tops of the lug screws, which stood up over the top of the 10-lug hoop fairly high, making it difficult for a backbeat drummer like me.In addition to that, the throw-off wasn't really working either and that's when my friend recommended I check out AK's website, as he not only makes his own beautiful drums but handcrafts reproduction parts for snares just like mine. Of course, as you can guess...once I went to his site and saw this truth for myself, I began an email dialog with Adrian and realized I needed to place an order for not only a repro throw-off but some of his custom brass hoops as well. He did not disappoint...
These parts aren't easy to come by and since AK is all alone in a small shop in Olang, Italy, which sits at the northeastern tip of the country, there is a bit of a wait but he let me know right away that he'd get to them as soon as possible. I realized quickly that there were many others ahead of me, who were also waiting on much bigger prizes, so I did my best not to hurry him along, as it's best not to rush perfection. It was well worth it too, as the package arrived just last night and so I wasted no time in getting everything on my drum. Check it out...
Wow, I am amazed and cannot wait to get this baby on my next gig.Stay tuned, y'all...Xoxo
Make It Happen
The first official drum lesson I ever got was from a great jazz drummer in Memphis named, Richard Cesani. Really cool guy from New York, the Bronx, actually...amazing player, too and we've remained friends for all these years since. Wonderful teacher, very funny. He taught me a lot. Anyhow, I was maybe 11 or 12 at the time and my dad took me to see him at his lesson studio over on Poplar Avenue. It all seemed strange to me, going somewhere else besides our garage to get a drum lesson, when I'd already been studying with my dad for several years, playing along to records just fine...I figured I had it all going on, as cocky as I was back then but I'm sure it was also exciting to be getting real lessons from an old-school jazz cat, which I'm sure was costing Dad some hard-earned bread. But I know he wanted me to learn from the best, so...What a guy.We get to this place, kind of an old office building, it's dimly lit inside and when I walk into his studio, all he has sitting there is a bass drum, a snare and a big 'ol ride cymbal. Wow! I honestly cannot remember if there were any hi-hats on the kit or not but I'm thinking there wasn't. It was kinda funny looking to me cause I'd never seen a setup without any toms before and I remember looking up at him and asking where the rest of the drums were and Richard's response is forever etched into my brain... "It all starts here. If you can't make it happen with just two drums then you won't sound any better when you've got more!"Words to live by.
Hope everyone is doing well.Xoxo
War & Pierce
This band...wow, I am so stoked they have asked me to play with them on some of their shows because they are great! Comprised of singers, Sunny War & Chris Pierce and bassist/producer Jared Faber, War & Pierce have created a wonderful, haunting, soulful and very unique sound. Joining me in the rhythm section is badass keyboardist, Roy Shakked and we're having a blast!Y'all, dig this video...the incredible Michael Jerome Moore is killin the drums![embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yjo4_WHGug[/embed]We've only played two shows together as a band but both were really fun and I can't wait for this Thursday evening, when we kick-it once again at the world-famous Hotel Cafe, so come on down, if you're in LA this week.Xoxo
Worth The Wait
Who in the heck is Poncho Stevens? I don't really know but I was in the studio with him over the weekend, recording basic tracks for his upcoming debut album and we had a ball. He sings, plays guitar, writes cool songs and delivers them with a voice somewhere between J. Mascis & Neil Young. Fragile, humble & honest. I liked him right away. He greeted me with a smile and warmth usually seen in older, more seasoned folk and I knew right away we were gonna be friends.
My good friend, Jason Soda has a wonderful little studio here in LA that he's been producing music out of since 1998 and I wanna live there.
Killer room. It's got everything you'd want or need, including great old gear, warm tones, good vibes, analog tape (!) and lots of laughs. In fact, other than a few snare drums and cymbals I brought with me, there was a bitchin' little kit already setup and waiting for me when I arrived that sounded amazing!
My partner in crime on the bass was, Steven Mertens, whom I've recently begun working with and this cat lays it down smooth with no b.s. Super nice guy, too.
As of this post, unless you live in his hometown of St. Louis or already know him on facebook, Poncho is a bit of a mystery. You can't buy his music, he doesn't have a website, no one's really heard about him yet but he's on fire for this music and I can promise you, when the record is finished, I'll be encouraging all of my friends to go out and get it cause I know it's gonna be good.
Xoxo
In An LA State Of Mind
Home.It's a good thing. No matter how much I love to travel, getting back to the comforts of my own little nest is always so rewarding. The island of Saint Barth is one lovely place that I hope to be lucky enough to visit again in the future. We played, we swam, we ate, we swam, we sunbathed, we swam... it was extraordinary. And the coffee was great, too!
Back to work. Check out my shows page to see where I'll be!Xoxo
Happy Island Times
My friends can't believe it when I tell them I'm headed to the French West Indies next month for a two-week stay...well...a gig, really but I think it's probably gonna be hard to call it work when I'm playing music with a great band and living on a tropical island in the middle of the Caribbean, right? Right. So, yeah, I can't believe it myself but there it is and in a few short weeks, I'll board a plane headed for beautiful St. Bart's, where I'll be backing up a badass youngster whom I've known for a little while now, Jonah Smith.He can sing. He can write and he can damn sure play. Dig it,[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uzYGpvrD88[/embed] Should any of you fine folks happen to be in the neighborhood while we're there, come to the Baz Bar and say hi! Meanwhile, I've got sunshine on my mind...
Later.
A Conquering Young'n
I am really psyched to be kickin' it, once again with my good friend and super badass cat, Trevor Menear and it's my plan to get in as many chances as possible before he gets scooped up and leaves our little trio. He has a brand new EP that me and a few other drummers played on that's just been released on bandcamp and it's quite good. Check it out and you can find me on trks #1 & #5...Trevor Menear -- The Conqueror RootHere's one from gig we did a while back...[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Wcrg-CjeY[/embed]Thanks for listening and much love, y'all!
2015?
If you had told me back in 1986 that I was not only about to graduate from high school and become a professional drummer but would also continue on to the present day touring the world doing just that, it would have taken some convincing. And yet, here we are...twenty-nine years later. Ha!
Happy new year, everybody. We made it to another year and I am extremely grateful to be here.
It's going to be a busy year!Xoxo
San Fran, Is Too Cool
Four nights at the Great American Music Hall in SF this past weekend...what a great time we had. The crowds for the CRB were not only cool but very respectful of us. Not a single person got rude with their cell phone nor did anyone have to be thrown outta there for bad behavior, and over the course of that many shows, it's worth it to make note of that. The music, the energy, people dancing, the gorgeous venue & sound was just wonderful and we soaked it all up. I am quite literally exhausted.So, here's to all the beautiful folks who came to see us...thank you!
Off to San Diego for a two-night run at the Belly-Up Tavern.
MDS & Me
Many moon ago, I worked a side job shooting product demos for the world famous Memphis Drum Shop, which lasted about two years. What started out light and simple, soon grew into quite a big deal and we filmed hundreds of these things. I have received many emails from folks around the world who've discovered me through these videos and that still blows my mind. I am honored to have been a part of their family and hold those guys in the highest regard. Here's a good one from back then and I was about 20 lbs. heavier...[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW4LF5J3k1I[/embed]Should you feel like perusing, I believe the bulk of them can be found here...https://www.youtube.com/user/memphisdrumshop/search?query=george+sluppickMany thanks to my good friends Jim Pettit & Bill Frazier of MDS. Y'all rock!
Give The Drummer Some!
This weekend I was asked to be part of a new (ish) podcast called, Give The Drummer Some!, where they speak to various professional drummers from all over the globe and talk about anything & everything. It was an honor. I did an interview with their host, Chris Troy and co-host, Tom Ashcroft, via Skype and it's about 90 mins in length and I don't blame you one bit if you can't stomach my voice for that long because I couldn't, so don't feel bad. I also sound like a complete idiot but whatever.Nonetheless, it was great fun, they are super witty, nice guys who absolutely live for heavy metal music, which is hilarious that they even knew about me in the first place but Chris assured me that he knew exactly who I was and that he was a big fan. I was touched. Unfortunately, I really wasn't able to hang with them at all when the discussion would turn toward metal, outside of one or two comments regarding some old favorites like, Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath but they didn't seem to mind my lack of knowledge in the least. Anyhow, we discussed other wild topics, ranging from music, to our favorite drummers, Star Wars, Star Trek, Roger Moore vs. Sean Connery and lots more. It was a gas. You may have a listen if you like and see if you can count the number of times I say the words, "You know"...http://gtdspod.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/episode-76-george-sluppick/Have a great weekend.Xoxo
It's Gonna Be A Good Christmas
This Christmas, my lovely gal and I will be traveling to Memphis together for the first time and I am delighted beyond measure. She'll get to meet my folks, hang with some of my dearest friends, see where I grew up and get a rare opportunity to see me preform with my long-time friends and musical comrades, The City Champs. The trio hasn't done a show together for more than a year and the three of us are definitely looking forward to dusting off those cobwebs. It'll be a gas.
Can't wait to play with these cats!
Get Set...
Hittin' the road again next week and I'm super pumped for this next run. Having had some time-off to be at home, relax, practice and be with my gal has definitely done my soul much good, preparing me for the work ahead.
New CRB shows posted, here...CRB Tour Dates
Stoked & ready.